Ghettoversity

• Aerospace Engineering (AE) is about building flying stuff
• It’s a combination of Aeronautics (Earth/Atmospheric flight – airplanes, helicopters, etc.) + Astronautics (Space/Vacuum flight – satellites, space station, etc.)
• A lot of Physics, Dynamics, and Math so basically, really damn hard
• NOT Avionics. That’s the electronic systems stuff on air/spacecraft and is more EE
• NOT flying planes. That’s flight school d00d

How It’s Different From

Mechanical Engineering:

• Aerospace is basically a subfield of Mechanical Engineering that focuses on flight
• They both have lots of overlap in the first 2 years due to general engeineering courses
• Generally speaking, if you’re 100% set on Aero, go for it. Else, study ME and specialize later

Classes & Stuff

• General Engineering – Calculus I, II, III; Physics I, II, Diff Eq
• Aerospace Related – Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Air/Spacecraft Design, Aerospace Materials

Work Jank

• Pay – Low: less than $60k, Median: $97k, High: $143k+ (2010 stats)
• You’ll get paid to design, build, and test aerospace products which can range from one specific type of bolt to a big jet engine
• Industries – Military (Satellites, Missiles, Drones, etc.); Government (NASA); Commercial (SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, etc.); Automobiles (making them more aerodynamic and fuel efficient)

Other Goodies